Toby Roberts wins Olympic Gold
Toby Roberts of Team GB has won Olympic Gold.
After three days of climbing, a new Olympic Champion has been decided, and it's Toby Roberts who stands on top of the podium.
Toby finished this morning's Boulder round in 3rd place, with his top of Boulder three - a boulder that only he was able to top - crucial to keep him in touch with the overall favourite for the Olympic title, Sorato Anraku.
With two tops apiece after the bouldering round, the top 3 of Sorato Anraku, Colin Duffy and Toby Roberts were separated by just 6.2 points - a difference that could theoretically be overcome in the space of just two '4 point' holds, if all three climbers reached the final section of the lead route.
That's exactly what happened, with Colin the first of the three to climb, reaching the 41st hold and securing 68.1 points. Jakob Schubert then put in an incredible performance to overcome a 24.7 point defecit, overtaking Colin by 3.2 points, thus moving into provisional first place.
In doing so, Jakob confirmed that he would be on the podium in back-to-back Olympic Games, with a minimum of Bronze. Had Jakob fallen just a single hold earlier, or Colin climbed a single hold further, their positions would have been reversed.
Toby was the next of the Top 3 to come out. He climbed slowly and steadily, fought hard through an awkward campus section, and eventually fell just shy of Jakob's high-point. His 92.1 points gave him an overall score of 155.2, and moved him into provisional first place with only one climber to come.
Sorato came out needing a score of 86 to win, meaning that he would need to reach the fourth-to-last hold to secure Olympic Gold.
Like Toby, he looked calm and composed through the lower section, had to fight a little through the campus section on pockets, and then entered the final section looking strong.
Two holds shy of his target hold, he reached up, looking to press into a large volume. There was nothing for the right hand. He retreated, looked up again, and launched for the crimp. He latched it, but he didn't have enough left, and he fell, confirming his own place on the podium with a Silver medal, and making Toby Roberts Olympic Champion, by a margin of 9.8 points.
Hamish McArthur finished the final in 5th place, putting in a solid lead score of 72 points, to register an overall score of 125.9, thus finishing ahead of Adam Ondra, 2021 Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist Alberto Gines-Lopez, and home-crowd favourite Paul Jenft.
A more detailed report will follow later today from Natalie, who is on the ground in Paris.
| Rank | Athlete | Boulder (Rank) | Lead (Rank) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
63.1 (3) | 92.1 (3) | 155.2 | |
2 |
69.3 (1) | 76.1 (5) | 145.4 | |
3 |
43.6 (5) | 96 (1) | 139.6 | |
4 |
68.3 (2) | 68.1 (7) | 136.4 | |
5 |
53.9 (4) | 72 (6) | 125.9 | |
6 |
24.1 (7) | 96 (1) | 120.1 | |
7 |
24.1 (7) | 92.1 (3) | 116.2 | |
8 |
24.4 (6) | 54 (8) | 78.4 |
